The Summer
by brokenhomes
Summary: Santana was supposed to be gone for the first month of the summer, but after two weeks, she was back in Lima. Some didn't know why she was back early. Most didn't know she was supposed to be gone at all. Santana/Rachel.
1. Breadstix

**Author's Note: This was supposed to be the first part of my only chapter that included what happened during the summer for my other story titled 'The Weekend' but I decided to make this its own story, and that all the parts I separated inside the one chapter I will make as individual chapters, and add more parts along the way. Sometimes story ideas come to you and you really have to take them. I apologize for that but as an apology I bring you this! I hope you enjoy.**

**Some chapters are way shorter/longer than others. The beginning is summer encounters and later things will change. Everything in the past is like in the show until it is proven not to be. Be kind! Review! Follow! Read! Enjoy! Eat! Cause some people don't. But you're all beautiful.**

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The first time Rachel came across Santana during the summer, they were at Breadstix.

The taller girl had plopped unceremoniously into the seat in front of Rachel and had started chewing on one of the bread sticks that was jutting out of the basket. Rachel made no move to tell her that the seat was occupied.

Through all the juicy goodness sloshing around in her mouth, Santana managed to speak, "You know, you really shouldn't be flirting with the waitress while you're on a date. Not that I care about Finn or anything, but you're way out of her league."

It took Rachel a while to realize that Santana had seemingly appeared out of thin air, and that after not seeing her for a couple weeks after the last day of school when they had found out that coming in 12th place at Nationals _could never feel so good_, she noticed a change.

The taller brunette wasn't sporting the newest designer bag on her shoulder or boots on her feet; _no_, she was wearing an actual, honest-to-god, t-shirt. She was also wearing shorts that cut off mid-thigh. She looked about ready to join an Australian gang of kangaroo hunters.

It also took a while for the girl to wrap her head around the compliment, but Rachel was thoroughly confused and inexplicably panicked, "What on earth are you talking about, Santana?" The girl smirked, "_C'mon_, Berry. Finn might not be able to notice because he's got a slight stigma for the gays but this is my turf, I know what I'm looking at."

"This is preposterous. I am on a romantic date with Finn, Santana. We are in love and rekindling our relationship. We may have hit a bump in the road last year but I assure you that we are working on it and we will be on our way in no time!"

Santana stares behind Rachel and her smirk falls off of her lips instantly. She looks stunned, and when Rachel turns around and notices Brittany and Artie, she feels a pang of sadness for reasons unknown to her. The two were huddled together on one side of the table, and when Brittany looks up and notices Santana, she shrinks away but waves at her softly. Santana's eyes harden and she snaps her attention back to Rachel without returning the halfhearted wave.

"Yeah, just don't let him get too close."

Finn comes out of the bathroom at that time and Rachel notices him walking back to the table, so Santana stands, pushes him to one side, and walks out of the restaurant.

Rachel pushes down the feeling of missing Santana, because that's a paradox.

She just loved the drama.

"What was that about?" Finn grunts. He pulls out the napkin to lay it back on his lap but knocks over his glass of water as he tries to flap it free of its crumbs.

Rachel mouths the words that Finn says at exactly the same time that he says them.

"Man, not again!"

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**Review! This is a short one. But you laughed I heard it. Leave me thoughts and suggestions for anymore meetups that can happen between Rachel and Santana. **


	2. Food & Stuff

**Reviews keep me happy I swear!**

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The second time Rachel came across Santana during the summer, they were at _Food & Stuff_.

Rachel spotted Santana first this time, and she was trying _so hard_ not to judge Santana from a distance but it was a daunting task when she looked at the girl's cart and saw an overwhelming amount of toilet paper and shaving cream products. A yogurt tube and rubber ducky were sitting on top of the pile.

Rachel decided to approach her. She was getting too curious.

"Hello, Santana." The taller girl turned around from inspecting a carton of eggs, threw them in her cart, and grinned.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Rachel Holier Than Thou Berry." The smaller girl was confused but ignored it because she didn't want to ruin her chance at holding a conversation with Santana before Brittany magically appeared from an aisle and stole the show, so she decided to ask about the pile instead.

"May I ask why you are buying such a ridiculous amount of toiletries?"

Santana purses her lips and shifts from one leg to the other undecidedly, crossing her arms across her chest, "If I tell you, you would have to keep your mouth shut about it."

"I solemnly swear."

Santana sighs, "Me and Puck are going to mess with Finn's house tonight." Rachel's gasp was not a surprise, "Why would you do that? Wouldn't that pose more of a problem for the adults of the house than for him?"

"Well no, I thought about his mom and Burt too but after we tried it the first time they made him go out and clean it all, it was pretty fun to watch, so we made it a tradition to do it at least once every now and then. And I do it because I hate him, pretty simple stuff."

Santana looks Rachel over, "You can't tell him." Rachel held her eye contact without wavering.

"What's the yogurt for?"

Santana blushed. Rachel thought it made her look beautiful.

"Those are for Brittany."

"I take it you guys are doing well?"

"If you consider _well_ me keeping her company because Artie's out of town for a computer convention, then yes, my life is going _swimmingly_." Rachel's brows crinkle and she knows she will probably end up overstepping with her questions sooner rather than later but she can't seem to stop herself. After a while, all the curiosity that Rachel holds for Santana— especially after she comes back as a completely different and completely tolerable person— well, let's just say she needs some answers.

"Why do you still hang out with her even though it obviously pains you to see her?"

Santana swallows. It's not like she hasn't asked herself this same exact question every day since what happened, but she legitimately doesn't understand the pull Brittany has on her.

"I don't know." She sounds defeated and Rachel can tell.

"Do you love her?" Santana snaps her attention from her shoes to Rachel's eyes and Rachel is taken aback by the confusion and unadulterated cynicism held in her eyes.

"Love isn't supposed to hurt like this." Rachel measures the statement in her head, "Love doesn't always go both ways."

Santana's jaw clenches and she spits out, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Brittany loves me."

Rachel smiles tightly, "I don't doubt it."

Santana snaps.

"Right. I have to go, Berry."

"No wait, Santana. I'm sorry I didn't mean to cross the line."

Santana turns around with a venomous glare similar to one Rachel hasn't seen for a few weeks.

"_I don't doubt it_."

The next morning, Rachel stops by Finn's house and isn't surprised to see it covered almost completely in toilet paper and cream. She helps him clean it up and listens as he angrily paces his room shouting about going to kick the ass of who did this.

She never says a word.


	3. Texting at the Movies

**Longest one so far. Review please. On the knees here.**

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The third time Rachel came across Santana during the summer, they were at the movies.

Rachel had proposed that the whole club get together at least once a month as to not lose track of each other. The plan, thus far, had been a success. That is, until Puck and Santana got themselves kicked out of the movie theatre.

It had been a simple task for Santana and Puck, get popcorn and drinks, and as Rachel walked out during the movie— giving the entire movie-viewing audience a direct view of her mastered diva storm-out— she received a text from Puck.

**_Lezzie started it._**

Rachel rolled her eyes at the insulting and immature comment. Santana had texted her previously to let her know that they had been kicked out.

**_Your Jew-whore got us kicked out of the theatre. Come get me so you can tell the barbaric linebacker watching us that I'm innocent and that I want to get my motherfucking film on!_**

Rachel stepped outside and noticed the _linebacker_ that Santana had mentioned. The security guard was two times the size of Rachel with shoulders roughly the size of watermelons. It was extremely intimidating. She walked up to him cautiously and timidly stated that she could take it from here before the large man flashed her the friendliest of smiles and returned inside. Hm.

Rachel noticed that Puck and Santana were sitting on benches on two ends of the theatre entrance, and to not seem biased— which she's sure would cause yet another unwanted controversy— she sat down in front of the entrance, exactly between both of them, and spoke.

"What happened?" She needed to raise her voice slightly so that they could both hear her. She was glad she wore her cute skirt today, because she looked crazy, but at least she looked fashionable. Kurt approved.

"Satan over there is being a douche!"

"Noah!"

"What, Rachel? It's true! I'd never call her that 'cause she's my tightest bro, but she's got another thing coming if she's going to start trying to snatch away other people's girls like that, _especially_ if it's Brittany." Santana spoke up angrily, her raspy voice rougher than Rachel remembered it.

"You steal guys' girls all the time. _You got Quinn pregnant _while she was with Finn. You made out with Rachel while she was with Finn. All you're missing is to make out with Finn now that he's with Rachel again and then you _really_ would've gone 'round the pyramid."

"Do as I do not as I say or some shit like that. But that's not the point!"

Rachel spoke up, "Do as I say not as I do." But Puck continued on as if she had never said a word.

"This is _Brittany_."

"_What the hell is wrong with Brittany_?"

"_She doesn't even want to be with you_!"

At this point, Santana and Puck are standing, facing each other with their fists tightly formed by their sides. Rachel decides to stand as well while they continue their argument, and she keeps her eye on both of them just in case they decide to charge at each other.

"_Brittany loves me the most! She said so herself!_" Santana looked desperate to believe that what she just said was true. She _willed_ herself to believe it. But she couldn't. And Puck noticed.

He walked forward slowly, standing about a foot away from Rachel, and in the light the girl could see that he had a black eye. Rachel gasped. So they had _already_ fought.

"Things change, Santana; if nothing else, you know _that_." Her shoulders slumped, and as she stepped forward next to Rachel, the smaller girl could see that she had a split lip _that was bleeding_. Rachel was furious.

"You have to get over your thing for her, cause trust me, it's just a thing. There will be bigger things and smaller things as you get older, but they will always just be _things_. Remember when you had that crazy crush on Tina and you couldn't even look at her for a month? That was a small thing, and you got over it. Things don't last. Sure, this is a big ass thing, cause _sure_, Brittany's super steamy on the outside and fucking candy land on the inside, but _it's just a thing_."

Rachel was caught _way_ off guard by the whole Tina thing, which she decides to question Noah about later, but right now she was glaring daggers at the boy. She was also really confused and jealous of their ability to go from _bros_ to _I hate you_ and back in the time it takes Johnny Depp to rescue his love interest in whatever movie they were watching, but that's _completely_ beside the point.

"Noah Puckerman! How _dare you_ hit a girl?"

They both jump when they hear her screaming and look at her wildly as if noticing her for the first time. Okay, Rachel knew she was pretty short, but _c'mon_.

He regains his composure and answers, "I hit her all the time. Gender equality or whatever; she doesn't shut the fuck up about all these fucking feminist movement shits. It drives me crazy. If you want to get punched in the face you can just ask I'm not a damn politician. Give them equal pay, who cares?" He was shouting towards the end, throwing his arms up in exasperation. Santana glared at him but the red tint in her cheeks showed that she was embarrassed that he expressed this bit of information about her.

"Fuck you."

"Not even if I lost my Willy and grew a pair of knockers, Lezpez!"

They were glaring at each other again and Rachel had had enough. She stomped her foot violently and curled her hands into tight, tiny fists, "Can you two _stop complaining_? Are we _done_ here? Is it clear that Santana has the _thing of all things_ for _Brittany_ that she has to _get over_ even though she's _super-hot and so, so sweet?"_

Rachel was breathing heavily. Santana stared at her with wide eyes, a heat crawling down her neck, and eyebrows furrowed. Puck smirked and looked at Rachel knowingly, because seriously, he was like a god with this stuff, "Jealous, Berry?"

Rachel looked offended, "Of course not!"

She huffed indignantly.

"Can you guys go clean up while I talk to the security guard to _apologize_ on your behalf so I can watch my favorite part of the _fucking_ movie?"

If Puck and Santana were shocked by Rachel's use of profanity, it was nothing compared to the faces of everyone in the movie theatre as the girl walked in just in time to view the beginning of the ending credits.

After that, Rachel learned that the name of the security guard was Henry.

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**Review! I see you people reading!**


	4. Rachel Berry House Party Extravaganza

**Thank you so much for all your reviews! I have a couple more chapters already written but I want to give you guys time to soak it all in and leave me your thoughts. I see you all reading don't be shy to leave your thoughts they are really appreciated~**

**Oh! I just wanted to clear some things up I mean I enjoy brittana for the most part but in this story Santana and the blonde, while having feelings for each other that they won't delve into for reasons that will later be specified, will not be together. Maybe there will be flashbacks and they might be together in those but in the future it won't be a sort of jealous thing where Santana's with Brittany to get Rachel or that she cheats or anything. Those stories piss me off. In a good way of course. Anyway, enjoy! And actively tell me if you do so!**

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The fourth time Rachel came across Santana during the summer, they were at a party.

It was at the Berry residence because Rachel's fathers were away on a trip for the weekend, and as expected, everyone was wasted. Everyone, that is, except Santana, Quinn, and half of Rachel.

Quinn looked around. She was bored.

Finn was getting on Rachel's stage to make a fool out of himself and quite possibly sing a love song to the tiny brunette. _Whatever._

Puck was sitting on Mercedes' lap. He was picking through her hair as she cried tears of joy. She hadn't stopped laughing since she got drunk about twenty minutes ago. _Kill me_.

Tina and Sam were fighting each other with what seemed like invisible light sabers; and Quinn only says this because Sam would keep repeating his crappy impersonation of Darth Vader and hiss out, "Luke, I am your father," and pretend to slice Tina's hand clean off her wrist. _Weirdoes. _

Mike was looking in the mirror and grabbing the .1% of fat that was left on his body. Any less and he would probably die. _Ugh, fuck you Puckerman that used to be me._

Kurt and Blaine disappeared about half an hour ago. _Oh God, gross._

Brittany was sitting on Artie's lap with her arms slung around his neck, he was pushing his wheelchair back and forth as if trying to rock her to sleep, but her eyes were open and she was kissing him on the cheek and giggling. _Oh, no._

Quinn turned to look for Santana and found her standing by the stage next to Rachel who was sitting in a chair staring at Finn as he grabbed the microphone in his hand. She was glaring hardcore at Artie, and Quinn could see the angry wheels turning inside her head. Quinn rolled her eyes when Santana pushed Finn off the stage and grabbed the microphone out of his hand. The brunette clicked the stereo on and waited as the music started to play.

Finn stood up to go pee, muttering something about Rachel's boobs and stubbing his obnoxious toe on the way out. _Of course Santana would sing about her feelings_, they were in glee club together for God's sake, what else could she possibly do to express her feelings? Talk about it like a normal person? Oh, that simply won't do.

Quinn was getting a headache.

"_Pass me off._" The blonde turned abruptly to stare at Santana as she rasped out the lyrics angrily. She was glaring at Artie and Brittany while she sang. Rachel also noticed this despite her half-drunk state and sat back in her chair to enjoy the performance.

"_If you're not there then what's the point of going out? Enough to give your school friends something to talk about."_

Santana hopped off the stage and walked towards Brittany who stared back at Santana as the girl sang. Brittany wasn't necessarily present at the moment, but she did think that Santana looked really cute in her red t-shirt and faded jeans. She was really digging the new look. Lord Tubbington thought so too.

"_Growing up on River Street and telling me your dreams. Come home."_

Santana almost looked like she was pleading with Brittany. But the girl didn't notice. The brunette turned around and sang to the stage,

"_Your eyes alone. A story told about how you can't help but feel old._"

Santana furrowed her eyebrows together as she sang the next lines, internally debating with herself no doubt. As much as everyone was wasted, Santana was most probably the one person farthest from this room. She was still living in the past, and at that moment, Quinn thought about the time Santana pushed her off the swing set when they were seven, the way that she had kicked sand on her shirt as she walked around her so that Brittany could take her place. It was such a contrast from their current relationship, all broken and fragile and _fucked_.

"_You've got an honest face. Doesn't account for your mistakes. Your hands build beautiful things for your mind to destroy." _Santana clenches her fist, "_Oh, to have no control."_

Rachel was swept away by the raw passion in her voice, which she's sure Jesse St. James would pass off as nothing due to jealousy over the fact that he sang like a machine that had its parts screwed on a bit too tight, but she found it amazing the way she expressed herself through song, and she wanted to be there for every single performance Santana was ever a part of for the rest of her life. Rachel's eyes never left the girl standing in the middle of the room.

Santana suddenly turned around with a small, defeated smile on her face, "_It hurts a lot,_" She shrugs, "_Still I'm glad I could connect."_

She hardens for the next part, her jaw clenching and shoulders squaring up, walking up to Artie and spitting her last words at him.

"_I still look good. Her language tells me I've impressed. Muscle, muscle, baby's calling me a god._ _Gives me everything I've ever wanted,_" Santana takes Artie's glasses off of his face and drops them on his lap, "_love protected._"

The song finishes and Santana is panting angrily in Artie's face as he cracks up.

"I can't see _shit_, brother."

Santana looks about ready to set fire to the entire community and pin it on the cripple. She turns to look at Brittany to see if she could get a reaction, _any reaction_, out of her; but Brittany had fallen asleep.

Santana saw red. She turned around sharply and pulled back to throw the frilly pink microphone straight at the wall, shattering it to pieces and grabbing her coat as she stormed out of the room.

"Santana," Quinn called out to her before she left through the door, "don't drive angry. Stay here." The brunette stops and turns around with an icy look on her face. Rachel sits straight in her chair and silently watches the confrontation unfold before her.

"Gee, thanks for the motherly advice, Q. Shouldn't you be filling your actual daughter with all this shit, though?" Quinn bristled. Rachel's eyes watered because of the force she used to keep the gasp from coming out of her mouth.

Mercedes, faintly aware of what was happening after she managed to stop laughing for about five seconds, caught the comment, and logged onto twitter.

**_#rough_**

Santana looked appalled with herself after she realized exactly what she had said.

"I'm so sorry, Quinn. I didn't me—"

"Save it. Don't step out that door unless you want me to physically strap you down to Berry's furniture."

"Just, wanky."

Quinn glared at her. Santana raised her hands in the form of an apology and grimaced.

Rachel really wanted to ask Santana how she could excel in the art of _forgive and forget in less than ten secs_, because god, she would never stop until she mastered this beautiful act of friendship. All she did was hold a grudge. It was quite exhausting if she said so herself. Her career would surely suffer if her attention is not focused. She can't take that chance.

Not before her first Tony, anyway.

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**I see the charts! I actually very periodically check them. It's a curse.**


	5. Poetry, Ducks, and Fabray Fuck-Ups

**Hello! I'd like to thank you all for the reviews, they are all very kind. Keep 'em coming! I don't even get annoyed when I see all these emails in my inbox, they make me real happy! I notice I always put exclamation points after each sentence and idk I think it's just cause I'm loud. Review! Please, people!**

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The fifth time Rachel came across Santana during the summer, they were in the park.

Rachel was sitting on a bench, her gaze stuck between staring out into the park to admire the people and the pets and the nature she always tries her hardest to protect, and between her book. She had fallen in love with it the moment it arrived in the mail a few days back and she had read it cover to cover three times the first night alone.

_Love & Misadventure_.

She just shudders passionately at the mention of the title. Rachel wasn't very big with poetry, but as of late— as a way to broaden her song-writing horizons— she has ventured deeper into the world of literature to get a feel of the rough edges associated with the passion lyrics should portray. She admits that she has maybe gotten _too_ attached with the internet and has stacks of poetry books piled up in her room. Her dads took her card away after they received a warning from the bank.

"Hey, Berry."

Rachel had seen a blonde flash before she heard the girl's voice but she still didn't expect it. She looks to her left and sees Quinn sitting down snugly next to her on the long bench. To Rachel's right is Brittany and to Quinn's left is Santana. Rachel supposes that Quinn has been trying to keep her fellow cheerios at a distance while their relationship— however excluded Rachel is from it— reached its critical low. The tiny brunette still wonders what exactly happened to make the pair grow distant. She understands that it has something to do with Artie, but she doesn't understand entirely because before school had ended for the summer Brittany and Artie were still going strong, and so was Brittany's friendship with Santana. The two were inseparable, and Rachel guesses that something must have happened in the beginning of the summer to change the nature of their relationship.

Rachel puts a finger in her book to mark her spot and turns her attention to Quinn, "Hello, Quinn. What brings you all here on this wonderful morning?"

"Ducks!"

"Coercion."

Quinn glares pointedly at Santana who just rolls her eyes and looks off at the pond in the middle of the park.

"I came to escape my mother. She thinks she's my best friend just because she took me back in. Do you know how hard it is to get rid of a Fabray?"

Rachel was a bit confused. Quinn Fabray was sitting next to Rachel Berry and talking about her home life with not even a trace of venom or scent of ulterior motives. Santana has also been considerably kinder to her as of late but it was unusual how comfortable Rachel felt around the girl. The playful tension they had with each other was more relaxing than the constant attention that Finn would throw at her, and by attention she means Finn pawing at her breasts and grunting in acknowledgement at whatever she says and not remembering it the next day.

Santana snorted, "A little too hard, if you ask me."

Before Quinn could lash out and spit some words back at her friend, Brittany had jumped off of the bench and jogged after a pack of ducks that had waddled along to take a dip in the pond and eat crumbs off the ground.

"Brittany! Not the pond!"

Quinn started after her before she could get too close.

Rachel watched on in confusion. Quinn could be very kind when around people she trusted, and maybe Rachel wasn't part of that group yet but she really longed to be. Having a strong friend around can teach her a few things, let alone keep her from the worst.

"She almost drowned a couple years ago."

Rachel turned her head to her right to look at Santana. She sat with her arm outstretched on the back of the bench, her eyes looking towards her two blonde friends.

Rachel was stunned, "What?"

Brown eyes met her own and her breath hitched in her chest. The sun was hitting Santana at just the right angle, her eyes were almost golden and the way her jaw clenched, reliving the moment in her head, made Rachel swoon internally.

What _the fuck_ was that about?

"She was like ten and we just came back from chasing the ice cream truck and we were so full," She grinned sadly, "She started running so fast when she saw the ducks. It was a momma duck and she had all her babies with her and they were so cute and Brittany really wanted to hold one. Problem was, they were all floating in the middle of the pond," She rolled her eyes, "She jumped in before we could even think about telling her not to. We weren't even near her."

Santana licked her lips and moved a bit closer. Rachel noticed every movement, and for some reason, she blushed. Santana noticed the book Rachel was holding and her eyebrows furrowed.

"What happened to Brittany? How did she get out?" Rachel had the decency to act embarrassed of her impatience.

"Right, well, Brittany didn't know how to swim at the time. She forgot that of course, and all Quinn fucking knew how to do was scream and throw a fit, an act she perfected by the way," Rachel smiled as Santana winked at her, "So of course she started screaming like she was giving birth and hell, that was probably practice for the real thing, but I was so freaked out. So I jumped in after her. She was struggling really bad, could barely keep her head above the water for longer than a second or two. She was fine when we got out but it really scared us."

Rachel had gasped at the appropriate times, chuckled when Santana jabbed at Quinn's pregnancy, and looked surprised when the girl talked about saving her distant friend.

"Is that why you guys are so attentive of her? And protective at school and elsewhere?"

"Yeah. I mean, we taught her how to swim and she's better than Quinn, but it really scared us straight. We don't talk about it anymore but we all remember."

Rachel placed her hand on Santana's thigh, "I'm sorry that had to happen."

Santana grinned at the warmth on her thigh and looked down at Rachel, "Better that it happened with us around than with nobody."

"Excellent point."

Santana shrugs smugly, "I'm always right."

Rachel snorts and Santana gasps playfully, "Do you not feel that this is true, Ms. Berry?"

"I just am simply too jealous to comprehend this. No suitors of mine have had half the brain."

Santana smiled, "You're such a loser, Berry."

Rachel held her head high on her shoulders, "I know you are not insulting me, so I must thank you."

"Whatever."

Santana turns to look towards the pond and notices Quinn struggling to keep Brittany from chasing after the ducks that have all started to fly away from the restless blonde.

"Lord, I should probably go help them." Santana stands up and turns to Rachel, blocking the sun and looking into the girl's big, brown eyes.

She taps the book Rachel is holding and narrows her eyes, "_The Wanderer_. It reminds me of you."

With a grin and a nod, she's off to help her blonde friends keep themselves from the impending doom of a sole park ranger that is always on high alert when they enter the park.

Rachel had been watching with bewilderment as the taller girl walked away from her, almost immediately flipping the pages to locate the poem that she did not remember. After a few pages, she finds it.

**The Wanderer**

_What is she like?_

_I was told—_

_she is a_

_melancholy soul._

_She is like_

_the sun to night;_

_a momentary gold._

_A star when dimmed_

_by dawning light;_

_the flicker of_

_a candle blown_

_A lonely kite_

_lost in flight—_

_someone once_

_had flown._

Rachel, of course, was getting way too emotional for the situation proposed, but she can't help but feel her heart expand. Santana had read this book, and of all the poems, she had remembered this one, probably— and hopefully— because it reminded her of Rachel. Nobody had ever thought about her when reading poetry, and even if the case was so— and it's something that she really doubts because she has dated Finn Hudson and Noah, although Puck had his moments— it was never brought up.

Rachel looks up to spot Santana looking at her from her position next to the blondes who had considerably calmed down. The smaller girl raises her hand in a still wave. Santana does the same.

Rachel blushed and looked down.

She was _really_ glad she decided to get out of the house today.

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**Review! There are lots of favorites and follows and I'd like to thank you all for them. Let me know what you think of the story.**


	6. Frilly Microphones and A Spanish Mess

**This chapter shows a different side to Santana then the quiet, aloof one I've been writing, but this is more of the actual Santana that Rachel isn't close enough to see yet. She's shy and silly and trips over her own words. But she won't always be like this. Definitely not in the next chapter.**

**Anyway, please review! A lot of people read my chapters but not a lot review, please tell me what you think it gives me energy to continue. And for those of you who do review, thank you so much. Your reviews make me really happy I assure you :D**

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The sixth time Rachel came across Santana during the summer, they were at the Berry residence.

Again.

Santana had stood there sheepishly holding her hands behind her back and looking up at Rachel through her eyelashes. Rachel was shocked at her sudden appearance but didn't let it show.

"Salutations, Santana. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

To that, Santana tilted her head back slightly and looked at Rachel oddly; as if she sprouted a second head that talked even more than the first one.

"You make me want to rip your bangs out. Don't make this harder than it has to be, Berry."

At that moment, Santana took her hands out from behind her back and outstretched them timidly. In her hand was a pink fluffy microphone. Almost exactly like Rachel remembered hers to be. _Almost_.

"It's not exactly like the original because I didn't really get a good look at it cause I was afraid I might pop a vein open, but I tried to replicate it as best as I could. Well, I asked the guy to add the stuff to it; there was no way I was going down the glitter isle at Walmart, I mean, I like Kurt, but totes mean it as an insult when I call him _Glitter Boy_. Anyway, I asked the dude to make it extra frilly, cause I remember you saying something about liking to rub the fluff on your face while you practiced at home; wanky, by the way. But, yeah." She looked extremely nervous, and Rachel detected a bit of color in her cheeks. Santana was looking everywhere, never meeting Rachel's eyes, but she suddenly jumped in place as if she remembered something. Rachel jumped with her; the girl looked like she hadn't slept at all, or just hit up a line of crack cocaine. Rachel was worried nonetheless, but also deeply grateful for the unexpected present.

Santana dug her hand in her back pocket and pulled out multiple sheets of stickers, all with gold stars on them at varying sizes. Rachel's eyes lit up instantly. She had been running low on her sticker supply and metaphors were really, _really_ crucial to the growing up process. Her heart swelled. This would most probably be the sweetest thing anyone would do for her, and as far as Rachel was concerned, her and Santana weren't even friends, but she would never deny it if it was brought up in conversation; in fact, she'd probably be the one bringing it up in the conversation in the first place.

"I thought that maybe you wanted to decorate it yourself if you weren't entirely satisfied with how it was put together. I mean, you could use them for anything, obviously. I mean, I wasn't telling you what to do with them is what I meant. Unless you needed help with thinking about where you wanted them, then I could probably suggest a few places. But I saw them at the liquor store, which I thought was really weird cause it was next to the magazine rack, and uh, they just caught my attention is all. I wasn't drinking or anything, I was with my mom."

Santana looked like she wanted to punch herself in the face, "but my mom wasn't drinking either. She's not Quinn's mom; that's one _mean_ alcoholic."

Now she looked like she wanted to punch _someone else_ in the face, "I mean—"

"You _really_ know how to throw Quinn under a bus." Santana blushed deeply, even her ears were red. She kept her eyes focused on the bow that was delicately tied on the shoulder of Rachel's top. She continued to stare at it with wide, disbelieving eyes as she spoke. Santana looked baffled, like she could swallow her tongue at any minute but was stopping herself in case she wanted to rip it out of her mouth and use it to hang herself instead.

"Please stop me."

Rachel giggled, and for the first time in a long time, Santana felt okay with being slightly more uncomfortable than usual.

"Thank you so much for this, Santana. I was most definitely not expecting it. After you shattered my baby I thought I would have to take it back to salvage whatever pieces were left, but this is much simpler. How can I repay you?"

Santana faltered, "Bu-but, I just repaid _you_! For shattering your microphone! Do you not know how this works, Berry?"

When Rachel continued to stand there, expectantly waiting for Santana to tell her what it is she wanted in return for this apology gift, the taller girl sighed and launched herself into her explanation. She was still nervous, and found herself tripping over her own thoughts, but she knows she came here with the intention of being nice, and even though she doesn't think she can completely repair her somewhat-friendship with Rachel, at least she can repair the girl's damned microphone.

"Okay, when someone bumps into your table and breaks your vase by knocking it over, they buy you a new one, kind of like an apology. They might even put flowers in it if they really liked you or if they were feeling extra sorry about it, like if it was your dead grandma's vase or something. But you don't expect anything in return for that. It's like those kind acts and all those assholes that try to complicate something as simple as holding the door open for an old lady that's a mile away. You don't expect the mayor to give you a key to the city or anything, you're just being kind."

Rachel nods, grinning widely as a blush lightly crept along her face, "So _you're _being kind to _me_?"

Santana sighs, "As hard as it was for me to come to grips with reality after singing an angry song to two drunks, smashing your pink fluffy microphone into the wall, and calling Quinn a deadbeat mother, I think it's safe to say— and I hope I'm being recorded here cause this should go in the official minutes— that _yes_, I am being kind to _you_."

Rachel giggled again, and Santana smiled this time, handing the girl her things and shoving her hands into the pocket of her jacket.

Rachel launched herself forward and wrapped her arms around Santana, who stiffened slightly before relaxing into the embrace. Santana placed her hands on Rachel's lower back and squeezed when she heard Rachel thank her again. She breathed her in, smelling Rachel Berry for all she was worth, and she was _definitely _satisfied. She hoped that Rachel was too.

And _god_, Rachel couldn't have felt more satisfied if she had tried.

* * *

**Review! Tell me what you think about this Santana.**


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